Employees - Oliver's Markets

Steve Maass

Founder & President

Steve is the Founder and President of Oliver’s Markets. He began his retail career in 1972 as the founder of Maass Produce and operated produce stands around the Bay Area. He was also Produce Manager at Food 4 Less (Santa Rosa) before opening the first Oliver’s Market in 1988.

Jill Olsen

Chief Financial Officer

Jill joined Oliver’s in 1990 as Bookkeeper and has grown her role as the company has grown to meet new needs and challenges. After being promoted to Controller in 2000, Jill was named Chief Financial Officer in 2007.

Scott Gross

General Manager

Scott joined Oliver’s as a Produce Clerk in 2000, as he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology at SSU. Scott joined management in 2005, serving in Cotati and Montecito stores. He served as Project Manager for Windsor construction, and was opening Store Director. He was named General Manager in 2016.

Eric Meuse

General Manager of Operations

Eric joined Oliver’s Cotati in 1989. He quickly went from staff positions to a management role as Assistant Store Director in 1993 and Cotati Store Director in 2000. He opened the Stony Point store in 2007 and served as Store Director there until he was named General Manager of Operations in 2016. Eric earned his BS in Business Management from Sonoma State University. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Cotati Chamber of Commerce.

Susan Walling

Human Resources Director

Susan joined the newly opened Montecito store in 2000 as a Checker. She rapidly progressed to Front End Lead and then Floral Department Manager. She was named Human Resources Director in 2006, creating a central department for the company from the ground up.

Nexsy Maldonado

Human Resources Manager

Nexsy brings ten years of food industry HR experience, including Foster Farms, Cargill, and Rich Products. Her experience in labor law, employee relations, and coaching will support Oliver’s HR capabilities. Nexsy earned her BS, Business Administration (concentration in HR) from DeVry University. She served as a U.S. Army Intelligence Analyst and is bilingual (English/Spanish).

Patty Butler

Corporate Office Manager

Patty joined Oliver’s in 1999, following work with Molsberry Market and A&B Market. She was hired as Front End Lead for Cotati, and moved on to Montecito and Stony Point, where she was promoted to office manager/money clerk in 2007. She joined the Business Office in her current role in 2014.

Paula Biancalana

Corporate Bookkeeping Manager

After a stop at Redwood Market in Cotati, Paula joined Oliver’s in 1990, first as Checker and Front End Lead and then moving into roles of increasing responsibility as Accounts Payable Clerk, Payroll Clerk, Assistant Office Manager and Bookkeeper before being promoted to Bookkeeping Manager in 2017.

Dustin Canter

Natural Grocery Buyer

Dustin joined Oliver’s in 2007 as a member of the Grocery team. Since then, he has worked as a POS Clerk, Grocery Clerk, Front End Lead, Dairy Lead and Natural Foods Lead before being named Front End Customer Service Manager in 2014. In 2017, Dustin was named Assistant Store Director. In September 2020, Dustin was named Natural Foods Buyer.

Lawrence Jacobs

Conventional Grocery Buyer

Since joining Oliver’s in 1998, Lawrence has held a good range of positions, moving from Utility Clerk and Checker to a Natural Foods Merchandiser, Dairy Clerk, Front End Lead, Front End Manager, Assistant Store Director and since 2012, Conventional/Specialty Grocery Buyer.

Richard Williams

Beer, Wine & Spirits Buyer

Richard became Beer, Wine & Spirits buyer for Oliver’s Markets in 2009. He has been in the retail world for more than 44 years and has been both store manager and wine buyer for many ﬁne Northern California stores. His travels have taken him to Europe, Asia, and the South Paciﬁc. He has a passion for ﬁne food and wine, and considers them inseparable partners.

Todd Davis

Meat & Seafood Coordinator

Todd joined Oliver’s as Meat & Seafood Coordinator in 2011, bringing a new level of leadership and strategy to the role. Todd’s extensive retail management and meat department background includes roles in several management positions in the industry before coming to Oliver’s Market in 2011.

James Schwedhelm

Deli Coordinator

James joined Oliver’s in 2013 as Assistant Deli Manager in Stony Point. He was promoted to Deli Manager for Montecito in 2016. Prior work experience includes deli management at Paradise Foods and Marinwood Market, and wholesale work with North Bay Deli Provisions.

Mark Kowalkowski

Corporate Executive Chef

Mark joined Oliver’s in 2009 as Corporate Executive Chef, bringing the focus and quality of the Oliver’s prepared food program to a new level. Mark’s extensive background includes degrees from Purdue and the Culinary Institute of America and work in top restaurants in Hawaii, Chicago and Sonoma County.

Mike Peterson

Produce Coordinator

Mike grew up in Santa Rosa and joined Oliver’s in 1999 as a Produce Clerk. He was promoted to Produce Manager in 2007 and Produce Coordinator in 2015. He is passionate about building a local, sustainable food system by working with farms and partners like F.E.E.D. Sonoma to carry the finest local produce. Mike earned his AA degree at Santa Rosa Junior College.

Marghi Sulas

Bakery Coordinator

Bakery Department Coordinator Marghi has been with Oliver’s since 2008, when she joined the Stony Point store as a Baker and Cake Decorator. She became Assistant Bakery Department Manager in 2010, and Bakery Manager at Stony Point in 2013. In early 2015, she was promoted to her current role.

Emily O’Conor

Gourmet Cheese Coordinator

Emily joined Oliver’s in our Stony Point Gourmet Cheese Department in 2014. She was named Gourmet Cheese Department Manager as part of the Windsor opening store team in early 2016.

Jacob Peters

Wellness Coordinator

Jacob joined Oliver’s in 2016 as Wellness Department Assistant Manager in Stony Point. He was named Wellness Department Manager, Cotati in 2017. Jacob’s previous experience includes a variety of roles at Community Market.

Shirley Liu-Pasquin

Customer Service Specialist

Shirley joined Oliver’s in 2007, bringing career experience in real estate and retail, including ten years at Safeway. After working as a Front End Lead for six years at the Cotati store, Shirley was tapped for the role of Customer Service Specialist in 2014.

Lisa Hall

Corporate Point of Sale Manager

Lisa joined Oliver’s in 2000 and worked in Point of Sale for six years before being promoted to Point of Sale Manager in 2006. She excels at improving and innovating existing systems to serve changing needs of the company, and has improved the inventory process, resulting in efficiency and profitability.

Lidia Soto

Health & Food Safety Compliance Analyst

Lidia began her career at Oliver’s Market in 2014 as the Stony Point Commissary Kitchen Manager. She was promoted to her current position in 2016. Lidia brings extensive background in bar and restaurant management to the role. She has a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Management from Oregon State University.

David Dominguez

Corporate Transportation Manager

David joined Oliver’s in 2010 as a member of the Grocery team in Cotati. He then moved to Oliver’s first warehouse when it opened in Rohnert Park in 2011. He played a key role in the move to the Oliver’s Santa Rosa office and warehouse in 2013, and was named Corporate Transportation Manager that same year.

Annie Sherman

Corporate Sustainability Coordinator

Annie joined Oliver’s in 2017, bringing rich experience from Whole Foods Market and the County of Sonoma, where she focused on recycling and green business outreach. Annie earned a BA in Social Sciences from CSU, Chico and an MBA in Sustainable Enterprise from Dominican.

Michael Johnston

Corporate Systems Maintenance Manager

Michael joined Oliver’s in 1999 to manage the Wellness Department for the newly opening Montecito store. From there, he moved into the POS department and began taking on more IT tasks as the company’s needs grew. He has focused on IT full-time since 2010.

Aubrey Ballinger

Corporate Graphics Manager

Aubrey joined Oliver’s in April 2012 as Bakery Customer Service in our Montecito store. She quickly became a cake decorator and was promoted to Bakery Assistant Manager in May 2013 and to Bakery Manager in Stony Point in March 2016. Aubrey transferred to the Corporate Graphics and Marketing team in May 2017 as Graphic Production Assistant, moved up to Graphic Designer and was promoted to Corporate Graphics Manager in 2019.

Jeff Spackman

Store Director

Jeff began his career with Oliver’s in 1991 as a Utility Clerk while in high school. His career path included warehouse and department management before he was named Second Assistant at the Montecito store in 2000 and First Assistant in 2007, he then returned to the Cotati Store as Store Director in 2009.

Shawn Reilly

1st Assistant Store Director

Shawn joined Oliver’s in 2000 as Grocery Clerk, progressing to Grocery Lead in 2005 and Second Assistant Manager in 2012. From 2013-2016, he was Retail Merchandising Specialist. In 2016, he managed the newly opened Windsor Tavern. In 2017, he was named First Assistant Store Director. Shawn earned his BA and MA in US History at Sonoma State University.

Savannah Schader

Customer Service Manager

Savannah joined Oliver’s in 2016 as a Front End Lead in our Montecito store. She was promoted to Customer Service Manager for our Cotati store in October 2020. Savannah graduated from University of Idaho in 2012 with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology.

Brian Swain

Production Manager

Brian joined Oliver’s Market in August 2011 as a Grocery Clerk at our Montecito store. After four years, he transitioned to a being a seasonal employee to attend UC Berkeley, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Physics. He returned to Oliver’s full-time in 2018 and was promoted to Production Lead in Cotati. Brian was promoted to Production Manager in August 2020.

Everett Corvino

Delicatessen Manager

Everett began his career in February 2013 in our Montecito Taqueria. He has served as Deli Lead, Deli Assistant Manager and Deli Receiver and has worked in Montecito, Stony Point and Cotati. He is now the Deli Manager in our Cotati location.

Mary Durham

Executive Chef

Mary began her career at Oliver’s as the Sous Chef in May 2016 and was promoted to Executive Chef in 2019.

Hayley Steele

Meat Department Manager

Hayley joined Oliver’s Market Stony Point in May 2013 as Meat Customer Service. She has served in the role of Meat Production/BBQ, Butcher and was promoted to Meat Assistant Manager in our Windsor store in October 2016. Hayley transferred to the Cotati store where she has served as the Assistant Meat Manager since December 2017. Hayley is now the Meat & Seafood Manager of our Cotati location!

Tati Espinoza

Produce Manager

Tati was hired in 2001 as a Produce Clerk in Cotati. In 2004, Tati moved into Grocery and Dairy roles, but returned to Produce to serve as Assistant Manager in Stony Point when the store opened in 2007. In late 2015, Tati returned to Cotati as Assistant Manager and was promoted to Manager in 2017.

Melanie Spackman

Bakery Manager

Melanie joined Oliver’s in 1995 working in the juice bar. She worked her way up in the Bakery and was named Assistant Manager in 1998. She was named Bakery Manager in 2002.

Wade Johnson

Cheese Manager

Wade joined Oliver’s in August 2010 in the Gourmet Cheese Department and was named Manager in May 2015. Wade is very passionate about supporting local farmers and cheese makers, and appreciates the opportunity to educate customers every day. “Where there’s a wheel, there’s a whey,” says Wade.

Justin Bowman

Wine Manager

Justin joined Oliver’s in 2009 as Wine Department Lead for Oliver’s Cotati. His previous experience includes five years as a Wine & Beer Specialist for Whole Foods. He was named Manager for the department in 2016.

Gema Lopez

Wellness Manager

Gema joined Oliver’s Market in April 1999 as a Dishwasher/Kitchen Clerk in our Cotati Deli and worked in the capacity of Cook, Deli Lead and Assistant Deli Manager between 1999-2011. Gema moved to the Front End in 2011 as a checker and to the Wellness Department in April 2015 where she’s worked as a Wellness Clerk and was promoted to Wellness Assistant Manager in November 2015 and Wellness Manager in 2019.